Photos of Jim Sheridan’s former home, ‘Martha’s Vineyard’, which is located on Coliemore Road, in Dalkey, Co DublinJim Sheridan's house Martha's Vineyard in Dalkey.Jim Sheridan's house Martha's Vineyard in Dalkey.Movie maker Jim Sheridan

Movie maker Jim Sheridan has quietly sold Martha's Vineyard, his swish modern seafront pad on Coliemore Road in Dalkey, for just over €2.3m.

The price is a fraction of the €10m the six-time Oscar nominee was reported to have first sought way back in 2008, and less than half of the €5m plus he is reported to have invested in it.

The Dubliner, whose acclaimed movies include 'My Left Foot' and 'The Field', first acquired the site in 1998 and took almost 10 years to bring his dream project to fruition.

The sale of the 3,400 sq ft property ends a bittersweet 18-year association for Sheridan with the site and closes a boom-to-recession saga of twists and turns worthy of a Hollywood script.

The house, which is widely believed to have the capital's best sea views, was designed by leading high-end architects De Blacam & Meagher, who won an award for their design.

The villa includes a sauna, steam room, four bedrooms, an entertainment room with a roll-down cinema screen, kitchens and a bathroom with a sunken bath.

The balconies run the length of the building over the sea, and the interiors are lit up via a central stairwell and atrium.

Among its notable attributes is an infinity pool which is filled by the tide.

The house was designed to be almost "in" the sea and in rough weather the spray of the waves dramatically hits the specially reinforced floor to ceiling windows in the main bedroom.

But the sea also caused problems during construction with workmen initially only able to build at low tide for two hours, twice a day using extra-fast-setting cements and concrete.

The resulting home was unveiled in 2007 just as the curtains came down on Ireland's property boom. Mr Sheridan said: "You feel safe, yet excited by the ever-changing and sometimes stormy sea." But soon after moving in he asserted that the sea was seeping into the property. This resulted in a prolonged court case against many involved in its construction.

Sheridan claimed alleged defective works to the house later played a big role in preventing him from selling the property.

His claims were denied at the time.

He put the house on the market just one year after construction finished at a reported asking price of €10m and just as the property crash was getting underway.

Mr Sheridan's €4m lawsuit against a number of companies was settled confidentially in 2010. He had claimed he could have sold up for €7m in 2007 but potential purchasers pulled out because of the water problems. The brochure had described the property as "paradise easily lost".

Planning dictated that the home be set low, which meant that members of the public could easily walk onto its roof. Later Mr Sheridan went back into the planning process to resolve such issues.

The property was rented out in 2011 seeking €7,000 per month. Agents Colliers confirmed yesterday that they had sold the house but would not comment further.